PCSAO Weekly Update: April 15, 2019

A quick rundown of Ohio child protection news this week

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Weekly Update for April 15, 2019

Association Updates

Stories of placement challenges highlighted in House subcommittee testimony

On April 10, PCSAO testified on HB 166, the Biennial Budget, before the Health and Human Services Subcommittee of the House Finance Committee, chaired by Rep. Mark Romanchuk (R-Mansfield). The panel included PCSAO Executive Director Angela Sausser, South Central Ohio JFS Director Jody Walker, Richland County Children Services Executive Director Patricia Harrelson and former Adams County foster youth Jerica Estle-Grooms. Each underscored the importance of proposed new investments in the children services system, including $30 million per year for the State Child Protection Allocation and $25 million per year for multi-system youth. Included in Sausser’s testimony was a PCSAO document titled Stories from the Field: The Need for Reform , which details seven moving anecdotes from across the state that illustrate the need for improving Ohio’s infrastructure of residential treatment centers that serve young people with serious mental illness, developmental delays and juvenile delinquency. You can find the video and statements of the panels testimony here .

Trainer Conference demonstrates power of team learning

On April 8, the annual Trainer Conference hosted by the Ohio Child Welfare Training Program focused on Team Based Learning (TBL) and featured Dr. Elizabeth Winter, assistant professor at the University of Pittsburgh, as both keynote speaker and workshop presenter. TBL offers trainers an opportunity to facilitate discussions of “messy” problems on topics like child welfare, helping new and experienced staff improve practice and retain knowledge. The OCWTP State Steering Committee met April 10 to learn about new foster family model licensing standards and discuss evaluation.

Wear Blue another success

Thanks to everybody who participated in the annual Wear Blue Day April 10. Photos posted on PCSAO and agency Facebook pages demonstrate the number of people across the state raising awareness about child abuse and neglect prevention. Check out some of the photos and mark your calendar for April 8, 2020.

Executive transitions in Columbiana County

Longtime Columbiana County JFS Director and former PCSAO trustee Eileen Dray-Bardon will retire May 3. Best wishes on a well-deserved retirement! Deputy Director Rachel Ketterman will serve as interim director, and the agency recently named Erin Stauffer as the new social services administrator.

PCSAO conference Call for Presenters

The 2019 PCSAO Conference Planning Committee is calling for presenters for the 34th annual PCSAO conference. The theme of this year's conference is "Champions for Children and Families." The committee will be looking for presenters who have dynamic and engaging presentations that are relevant to child welfare evidence-based practices, who will benefit attendees, and who are creative. The conference draws around 500 people each year and is a valuable opportunity to educate child welfare advocates across the state. The 2019 conference will be Sept. 25-27 at the DoubleTree in Worthington. Workshop proposal information and application can be found here and should be submitted to [email protected] by May 1. Any questions can be directed to the conference coordinator, Nitina Francis, at [email protected] or 614-224-5802.

Rules update

Rules in Pre-Clearance: Chapter 5101:2-48, Adoption Rules are in pre-clearance until May 2 due to five-year review. You can review and comment here.

Rules in Clearance: As of April 12, no children services-related rules were in Clearance.

Filed with JCARR: The following rules were original-filed on April 10 and have a scheduled public hearing May 5:

5101:2-44-03: Public children services agency (PCSA) administration of the state adoption subsidy program
5101:2-44-05.1: Covered families and children (CFC) medicaid eligibility: special needs children
5101:2-44-05.2: Covered families and children (CFC) medicaid eligibility for state adoption subsidy recipient moving from or to Ohio
5101:2-44-06: Eligibility of adoptive family and adoptive child for the state adoption maintenance subsidy program
5101:2-44-08: Redetermination and amendment of a state adoption maintenance subsidy
5101:2-44-09: Requirements for the state adoption special services subsidy program
5101:2-44-10: Suspension of a state adoption maintenance subsidy
5101:2-44-11: Termination of a state adoption subsidy
5101:2-44-12: State adoption subsidy records
5101:2-44-13: Public children services agency (PCSA) administration of the post adoption special services subsidy (PASSS) program
5101:2-44-13.1: Eligibility and application process for the post adoption special services subsidy (PASSS) program
5101:2-44-14: State adoption assistance loan fund
5101:2-49-03: Special needs criteria for adoption assistance
5101:2-49-13: Termination of adoption assistance

The following rules were refiled on April 10:

5101:2-49-03: Special needs criteria for adoption assistance

The following rules were final-filed on April 8 and have an effective date of May 1:

5101:2-47-01: Administration of the Title IV-E foster care maintenance program (FCM)
5101:2-47-17: Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: Reimbursements for FCM and child care for public foster homes, relative homes, and pre-finalized adoptive homes
5101:2-47-18: Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: Reimbursements related to the difficulty of care needs of a child placed in a foster home, relative home, or pre-finalized adoptive home
5101:2-47-19: Foster care maintenance program reimbursability: payments, reimbursements, graduation expenses and personal incidentals

Announcements and Resources

EDMS child welfare webinar

Registration is available for the “ EDMS: Child Welfare Taxonomy Q&A Part 2 ” webinar April 29 from 10–11 a.m. to provide an opportunity for participants to ask taxonomy-related questions of EDMS project team members and pilot county participants. To report possible issues in the EDMS, contact the EDMS Help Desk at 866-442-6902 or [email protected] . For general EDMS questions, send an email to [email protected] .

OPOTA Richfield training announcement: Why Teens Kill / Generation Death

Courts, school officials and others are welcome and encouraged to attend Why Teens Kill, a course on the causes of teen violence, dangerous youth culture, and school safety. The course is taught by Phil Chalmers, considered to be America's leading authority on juvenile homicide and juvenile mass murder. Chalmers has studied the youth culture for over 25 years and is knowledgeable in youth culture, youth behavior, and the effects of youth entertainment. The class will be Aug. 14 from 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. at OPOTA Richfield, 4055 Highlander Parkway, Richfield, 44286. Free parking is available on-site. For more information, contact [email protected].

Child Protection in the News

Apr. 10 - Ohio Wears Blue Day seeks to raise awareness of child abuse - WYTV

It's all part of Ohio Wears Blue Day.

Blue is the national color of Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention, and the month of April is designated to raise awareness

Apr. 9 - Most foster kids facing abuse or neglect moved out of Licking County - Newark Advocate

Contrary to public perception, children impacted by abuse and neglect are not usually removed from the home, according to Kim Wilhelm, the Licking County Children Services administrator.

Apr. 9 - More children abused or neglected in Franklin County - 10TV

In 2018, Franklin County Children Services (FCCS) took in 33,273 referrals received and 13,770 investigations were initiated. That’s slightly higher compared to the year before, where 21,214 referrals came in during 2017, with 11,771 cases screened for assessment.

Apr. 9 - Wear blue for child abuse prevention month - Warren Tribune Chronicle

Stacy Ferencik, community liaison / recruitment specialist for Trumbull County Children Services, said the color blue has been adopted by survivors of child abuse and neglect to bring awareness to their cause.

Apr. 7 - Half of Clark County kids in foster care have parents on drugs - Springfield News-Sun

More than half of the neglect and abuse cases Clark County social workers encounter involve drug activity. About 250 children are either in foster care or in a kinship program right now, Clark County Department of Jobs and Family Services Deputy Director Denise Estep said. For many of those children, drugs contributed to them being separated from their parents.

Apr. 5 - Agency would rely on budget surpluses to pay for child care development, foster care funding hikes - KPVI

The director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services laid out an ambitious plan this week to boost spending on improving child protection and bolstering early education and child care initiatives.

Mar. 27 - Study: Combining Government Data to Reveal Human Trafficking Victims - Forensic Mag

A grant-funded Ohio study integrated various government data sources to reveal previously unknown victims of human trafficking.

Report: Estimating the Prevalence of Human Trafficking in Ohio